


Shot Through the Heart

by Sinclaironfire



Category: Lupin III
Genre: As if Lupin doesn't have two boyfriends and a girlfriend already, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Fujiko Worries about Zenigata, Getting Older, Goemon Worries about Zenigata, Gun Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Jigen Worries about Zenigata, Lonely Zenigata, Lupin Worries About Zenigata, Lupin gets really worried, Lupin is jealous of Zenigata's girlfriend, M/M, Multi, Shootings, Soon Becomes, Whump, Zenigata Falls in love, Zenigata becomes a broken man, Zenigata finds happiness, Zenigata gets some rest, Zenigata whump, worrying about the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:21:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinclaironfire/pseuds/Sinclaironfire
Summary: Life for Zenigata is simple.Wake up, solve crimes, and try to catch Lupin. That's it. No friends, no family, no partner, just chasing a thief. Was it any wonder that Zenigata melted at the first sign of flirtation from the gorgeous woman in his hospital room?
Relationships: Arsène Lupin III/Zenigata Kouichi, Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III/Mine Fujiko, Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III/Mine Fujiko/Zenigata Kouichi, Zenigata Kouichi/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm new to the fandom but I'm here to make Zenigata suffer. Let's have fun at Pop's expense.

As the metal twisted around the radio tower and the flames got hotter, it occurred to ICPO inspector Zenigata that this was not his first time in a planethat was shot down because of Lupin III or his many enemies who would rather see the famed thief dead rather than in prison as Zenigata desired. Still, even with the smoke suffocating him and the fire burning his beloved trenchcoat taking the brunt of the flames, it was good to know that he had helped in some small way of avoiding what would have been a tyrannical takeover of a small country even if Lupin had been leading the way. 

How he got tangled up in Lupin’s madcap schemes he was never sure. What he did know was that Lupin had always, he always did, piss off the wrong people who had more power and money than they deserved to have and were hell-bent on world domination for some reason or other. Truth be told, he hadn’t been paying attention to the reasons this time. He was more interested in the crimes that were committed which so far were kidnapping, sex trafficking, drug running, bomb-making, gun running, money laundering, and oh yeah, trying to kill a police officer ie him. 

The whole maniacal plane ride now crashing into the radio tower was Lupin’s brilliant idea to jam the signal that was set to release a couple of bombs over the world. Judging by how the lead terrorist, John Something or other, was screaming, Zenigata felt confident that his evil plot was foiled. 

“Oh, good Pops!” Lupin smiled, seeing that the older man was in fact still alive. “I thought you died. Thanks for helping me escape those terrorists. I couldn’t have done it without you.” 

He was right in front of him. He could grab him right now and...and oh who was he kidding? His arms were dead weights to him. He didn’t have the strength to reach for his handcuffs, let alone chase the thief. 

“Sure, yeah, no problem,” Zenigata sighed. “Thanks for pulling me out of the plane.”

“You’re welcome! I’ve called your backup so they should be here soon. See ya later, Pops!”

And off he went. Lupin the third was gone with the wind and Zenigata was alone. 

He stayed on the ground, not of choice, but out of pain. Lupin may have saved his life, but not the aches and pains that their recent adventure caused. Every single time he breathed, he could feel his bones rattle. Where Lupin found the strength to scamper off after a crash like that he didn’t know. 

God, he was getting old. 


	2. Chapter 2

The hospital walls were always the same sterile and boring white. The hospital food was always the same terrible mush. The hospital sheets were always the same crappy and itchy sheets. All the hospitals in the world must have had the same miserable supplier whose mission it was in life to make hospital stays the worst experience in everyone’s life. Zenigata tossed and turned in his hospital bed. He wanted to get comfortable but couldn’t.

Every little thing seemed to exacerbate how he felt. His own skin was uncomfortable. Saying that he was restless was an understatement. Staying still? Resting? He didn’t do that. He was on the go. Had to be when one’s quarry was Lupin III. Nevertheless, even he couldn’t go chasing Lupin with, as the doctors’ stated, a concussion, internal bleeding, and a sprain. As much as he wanted to, Zenigata was stuck in his hospital bed until further notice.

Perfect. Just perfect.

All the meanwhile, Lupin was somewhere out in the world, plotting his next caper and he was here, in his hospital bed…like an old man. He couldn’t recall when things started to hurt, but he knew that a year ago, had Lupin crashed a plane into a radio tower, he would have been able to jump right up and chase after him like his life depended on it and not lay down on the ground until assistance came. A cold and cruel voice in his head mocked him, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

Zenigata sneered at the invisible foe that mocked him relentlessly. He wasn’t there yet. He had injuries, he’d fallen out of a plane, he hadn’t injured his hip or whatever stereotypical injury that people associated with old age. He just needed some time to recover and once he did, he would be right back out there hunting Lupin down, but until then, it was the hospital for him.

It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right, but whether he liked it or not, and he didn’t, he was stuck. His men were all searching for signs of Lupin, but knowing the thief he would be lying in wait in some charming part of the country, dining like a king and plotting. While he was stuck waiting and recovering.

Sitting and waiting never agreed with him. Zenigata blamed it on his career of chasing Lupin around. Who could ever rest while he was out there? Or worse, pissing off the exact type of person who had access to weapons of mass destruction. Every second that Zenigata wasted in bed was another second that a much larger crimes were being committed.

Zenigata supposed that, for all his complaining, he should be thankful that he was in a hospital instead of the morgue. Not many people survived plane crashes, let alone intentional ones. Nor did many people have adversaries such as Lupin who gave enough of a damn to pull him out of a burning wreck. Lupin was a thief of the highest caliber, but he wasn’t heartless. Zenigata fell back to his pillow. He counted the tiny dots on the ceiling. Due to his stay in hospital, there would be no reports, no calls, no paperwork…nothing except for boredom.

“Inspector Zenigata?” a voice, sweet and light called out to him.

Standing in the doorway, there was a woman who carried a bouquet of roses. She was lovely. The woman didn’t hold Fujiko’s type of beauty, dark, flirtatious, and just a little bit (A LOT) dangerous. No, she maintained a simpler beauty. Sex appeal she did not ooze, but grace and charm. Soft smiles and caring glances and bright eyes made up the woman in front of him. She was a sweet little thing and reminded him of summer and sunshine. Not for the first time, Zenigata felt his heart race. He didn’t advertise it, but he was weak for a pretty face and the attention that came with it.

“Y-yes?” Zenigata sat ramrod straight in his bed. He was thankful the bandages that covered his face. He could lie as best as Lupin could and hide his feelings well, but with a pretty woman, he was prone to blushing.

“Danielle LeBlanc,” she introduced. “BBC International. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought you some flowers.”

The roses were as lovely as she was. “Thank you, um…Ms. LeBlanc, why are you here?”

“I’m here because you saved a lot of lives with your plane stunt last week, inspector. It was a very brave thing for you to do and my readers want to know more about the man who risked life and limb to stop bombs going off.”

That was why she was here? It seemed so strange. He’d done so many other feats that the plane crash was more of a trifle. Crashing the plane had been Lupin’s idea, fighting off the wanna-be dictator was Zenigata’s struggle. It was teamwork all the way.

“Oh…” he mumbled.

“Oh?” Danielle laughed and sat down next to him. “A lot of people don’t usually go ‘oh’ when they talk about their plane going down. But I take it that it’s not the first time for you?”

“It isn’t, but usually I’m out of plane before we crash. In my defense, I wasn’t the one flying. I was the one fighting the dictator.”

Maybe it was how he said it or maybe Danielle wasn’t expecting him to be so damn honest about the entire affair, but she laughed and smiled and leaned in closer to him. “Inspector Zenigata, you are too much!”

“I am?”

“Yeah! Your whole ‘I was fighting dictator’, please can I quote you on that?”

“I mean, well…” He didn’t give interviews. That was for Interpol to do. He was more of the ‘Chase the bad guy down to the ends of the earth if necessary’ kind of guy. But Danielle…wow, she was pure sunshine. He wanted to spend a little more time in her presence. “Sure, yeah.”

“Great!” she pulled out her pen and notepad. Before she could ask a single question, alarms went off. Doctors and nurses rushed down the hall. There was shouting and commands being thrown in order to save a patient’s life. The hospital staff was not successful. It dampened the mood. Danielle tucked a loose bang behind her ear.

“Tell you what, it’s a beautiful day outside. Why don’t we have our interview in the hospital park?”

“I’d like that,” Zenigata nodded. He didn’t like hospitals. He wanted sunshine.


End file.
